58th OANA Executive Board Meeting Opens In Moscow, Marks 65th Anniversary Of Organisation

By Arul Rajoo Durar Raj

MOSCOW, Sept 20 (Bernama) -- The 58th executive board meeting (EBM) and technical committee meeting of the Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) opened here, Sunday.

Russian state news agency TASS, which currently holds the OANA presidency, is chairing the four-day meeting that also marks the 65th anniversary of the 41-member organisation.

TASS director general Andrey Kondrashov in his opening remarks said the gathering in the Russian capital allows news agencies to discuss measures to address the current challenges they face.

“We are looking at future of OANA…how efficient we can address challenges and also come out with new ideas,” he said.

Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), which sits on the executive board, is represented by Chief Executive Officer Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin and Editor-in-Chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj.

Vietnam News Agency (VNA) confirmed during the meeting that it will host the 59th EBM.

On Monday, members are slated to participate in a discussion on approaches to counteracting the spread of disinformation and fake news.

In line with the current global emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI), a panel session on ‘Media and AI: Methodologies and ethics in the digital era’ is also slated to be held on the same day.

Another event slated for Monday is a discussion and signing of a memorandum between OANA and the Global Fact-Checking Network (GFCN).

OANA was established in 1961 at the initiative of United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) to facilitate direct and free news exchange among news agencies in a region that accounts for over half of the world's population.

OANA currently has 41 member news agencies from 35 countries, with 13 agencies serving on its executive board. The OANA EBM is held annually, with the last meeting held in China.

Aside from TASS, VNA, and Bernama, other international news agencies participating at the 58th OANA EBM are Islamic Republic News Agency or IRNA from Iran, Yonhap News Agency (South Korea), Anadolu Ajansi (Turkiye), Xinhua (China), WAM (United Arab Emirates), Kyodo News (Japan), Qatar News Agency, Montsame (Mongolia), and Perusahaan Umum Lembaga Kantor Berita Nasional or ANTARA (Indonesia).

-- BERNAMA